


From Afar (No Better, No Better)

by RhymeReason



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Reverse Big Bang 2020, F/M, Getting Together, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23208280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhymeReason/pseuds/RhymeReason
Summary: David just looked at him. It made sense that Kevin would forget about Kayleigh, at least the details around her. He had been eight years old when she died, and spent the decade after her death getting routinely and completely abused by the people who were supposed to be protecting him. It made sense in the sickest type of way.David had just forgotten that some people's memories of Kayleigh weren’t burnt into their very souls.
Relationships: Kayleigh Day/David Wymack
Comments: 18
Kudos: 32
Collections: AFTG Reverse Big Bang 2020





	From Afar (No Better, No Better)

**Author's Note:**

> AHHHH hello! Heres my contribution to this year's AFTG RBB! My artist is Fornav! It was honestly an honor to work with them and you should go check out their tumblr!I'm super super proud of it and I hope ya'll enjoy it too! <3  
> (Also, the title is from From Afar by Vance Boy and Barabra Allen, specifically the Dolly Parton version!)

“Coach?” 

David Wymack looked up from his work at the sound of Kevin’s voice. Kevin was standing in his doorway, his arms crossed in front of his chest and he was wearing a scowl that Wymack could now recognize as a mirror of his own. It was changed slightly by the way Kayleigh’s features were etched onto his face, but the way that his brows pinched and his eyes narrowed was exactly the way that David’s did. It was so obvious that David wondered why no one noticed the resemblance sooner. 

David sighed. “What’s up, kid?”

“I, um.” Kevin took a step into the room. He hesitated. It was an unfamiliar expression on his face. “Actually, nevermind, sorry to disturb you, Coach.”

“Spit it out, Day.” David growled in response. “It had to be something important if it was enough to make you have Andrew haul you over here.”

Kevin pouted like some sort of ten year old. “Andrew didn’t drive me. Him and Neil are-”

“Nope, don't want to fucking hear about that, just--get on with your point Kevin.”

“Can you tell me about Mom?” Kevin blurted. His face was flushed and he wasn't making eye contact. 

David was silent. There was tension in the air for a few pregnant heartbeats until he finally broke it. “Why?”

“I just-” Kevin sniffed and David’s heartbeat picked up. Was Kevin crying? Oh god, David did not know how to deal with his twenty-one, vaguely estranged son crying, oh god- “I just don’t remember a lot about her anymore.” Kevin finished. He finally made eye contact and David was happy to see that Kevin’s eyes were free of tears. “I've been alive more than double the amount of time I had with her and every day I forget her more and I just hate it. I hate it so much.”

David just looked at him. It made sense that Kevin would forget about Kayleigh, at least the details around her. He had been eight years old when she died, and spent the decade after her death getting routinely and completely abused by the people who were supposed to be protecting him. It made sense in the sickest type of way.

David had just forgotten that some people's memories of Kayleigh weren’t burnt into their very souls. 

He scooted his chair back and stood up. He cracked his back before walking over to the filing cabinet and digging through it. David found what he was looking for and shut the drawer with a snap. He turned back to Kevin and handed the photograph to him. “Here. It's a picture of your mom from around the time me and her met. It was right around the time that she got Exy authorized to be taught in afterschool programs and got the beginning stages of the NEL all set.”

The Kayleigh in the picture was the one that David thought of when he got drunk. Her dirty blonde hair was cropped to just around her jawline and she was laughing, her green eyes bright with mirth. Her arm was wrapped around the shoulders of a much younger version of himself, no tattoos and no wrinkles to speak of, just a bandage on his nose and faded black eyes. They were both sweaty and in their Exy gear but they looked happy. They had been happy. 

Kevin held it gently in his hand, like it would disintegrate the moment he let go of it. He stared at it for a long time before looking back up at David. “Can...can you tell me about how you two met?”

David frowned. “Why?”

“I get the feeling it's a funny story.”

David scoffed. “God, you are your mother’s son. Yeah kid, it is a funny story.” David walked past Kevin and grabbed his jacket. “C’mon, let's go get shitty take out and I'll tell you the story of how I tried to steal your Mom’s Camaro.” 

*

You could tell a lot about someone when it came to their cars. How clean they liked things, what type of music they prefer, what their favorite scent is. You could tell how much they liked their car and how much care they were willing to put into an inanimate object. How much money they were willing (or had) to throw around. It's all there if you knew what to look for and David was very good at looking.

It was rare that a car caught his eye the way that the Camaro did. Fancy cars were a given when living and working in Baltimore, so David got pretty good at just ignoring them and the way they made his stomach clench with want but the Camaro ...it made him shudder. He knew how much that car cost and how well it ran. He could recite it's top speed, stats and gas mileage like the back of his hand. 

His fist clenched and David could feel sweat going down his back, despite the January chill.

He was gonna steal that car.

Stealing cars was as easy as breathing, once he got his hands on it. All it took was a little wiggling and a willingness to get your hands dirty, all of which David was good at.

With a quick glance around to make sure there weren't any cops nearby, he got to work.

It had been a long time since he’d stolen a car. He had learned how to do it in highschool because it was a pretty easy way to make enough fast cash to live by until he could get an actual job. He’d stopped doing it when he got into college, that way he could keep his scholarship, but graduation was six months in his rearview mirror and his car broke down three months ago, so it only made sense. Besides, if he had a car, it would be a lot easier to get a better job. He wouldn’t be stuck in his dead end job as a janitor at the local highschool. It only made sense. 

He just about had the door open when-

“Hey, get the fuck away from my car!”

David bolted. Instinct had him veering around the front of the car, throwing himself across the hood when it became clear that he couldn’t fit between it and the car parked in front of it. His feet hit the pavement hard and got caught on the curb. He hit the ground face first with a crunch.

“I would say sorry but you kind of deserve that.” Shouted the voice from before. David rolled over and caught sight of an angel.

She was tall, maybe 5’9” and her dirty blonde hair was framing her face like a crown as she leaned over to peer down at him. Her eyes were the deepest green he had ever seen, and the way she was looking at him made his heart thump in a syncopated rhythm. She looked like royalty, like a queen.

“-okay,?”

“Huh?” He slurred, not completely snapping out of his daze. 

“I asked if you’re okay.” She frowned at him. “Your nose looks like it's broken. It's bleeding a lot.”

“Oh uh,” once she said it, David became aware of how much his nose was throbbing and of the amount of blood that was soaking into his shirt and dribbling into his mouth. “I fink I broke it, yeah.”

She grimaced. “That sucks. But that is what you get for trying to steal my car.”

Her voice was heavenly. She had an accent that David couldn’t quite place, but the way that her voice flowed and lilted sounded like a special type of music. It sounded comforting and familiar in the same way that an old but new to you blanket did. It spread across David’s chest and enveloped him in it’s warmth. It was so warm that it felt like it would burn him if he let it. Part of him was inclined to let it burn him to the ground.

“Hello?” She waved her hand in front of his face. “Are you alive there? Did you hit your head?”

“No,” The back of his head throbbed in unison with his nose, as if reminding him of its existence. He amended what he said. “Wait.I fink so.”

“Good lord.” The angel shook her head and held out a hand. “Okay, come along bud. Let's go get you all checked out, alrighty?”

It might've been the concussion talking, but David was pretty sure he would follow this woman to the end of the earth.

“Get in the car.” She said, gesturing to the passenger door. 

“What?”

“Get in the car, I’m gonna take you to go get your nose fixed by my friend.”

“Uhhh…” David looked at her for a long moment. She raised her eyebrows at him. He weighed his options. “Okay.”

He got into the car.

“Soo…” The angel said as she shifted the car into gear and pulled them out into traffic. “What’s your name?”

“It's David.” He responded. 

“You got a last name, David? Most people do I think. Except Madonna, but she's the exception to every rule.”

“It’s…” He considered lying, but he got the feeling that lying would be useless with this woman. “Wymack. David Wymack.”

A grin split the woman’s face. There was a small gap in between her front teeth. It was charming. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr.Wymack. I’m Kayleigh. ”

David grimaced. “Don’t call me Mr. Wymack. It’s too formal. I’ve only ever been called Coach Wymack before.”

“Coach?” She raised her eyebrows at him as she took a corner way too fast to be legal. The car handled it beautifully. “What did you coach?”

“Little league hockey. Mostly the 2nd graders, so they couldn't do much but it was fun.” David wondered distantly why he was telling this to a random woman who essentially kidnapped him, but the part of his brain that wasn’t concussed informed him that it was worth telling her anything as long as it meant that she smiled like that at him again.

“Hockey, huh? I knew there was something about you I liked.” She laughed, and turned them down a residential street up in Windsor Hills. The neighborhood was full of large houses, each one several stories tall, and each one completely out of David’s price range. The entire place screamed serial killer to him. “Did you like coaching?”

“Well yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it.”

Kayleigh pulled the Camaro to a stop in front of one of the biggest houses on the block. It was three stories tall and had brown siding and too many windows to count. David hated it as much as he loved it.

Kayleigh threw the car into park. “Tell me David. You like hockey and I get big ‘international sports’ vibes from you. Have you heard of a little sport called Exy?”

The puzzle pieces in David’s head clicked together. The car, the house, the way that Kayleigh was way more ripped than any other woman David had ever laid his eyes on. It all added together.

He tried to steal the car of Kayleigh Day. 

He tried to steal the car of the most famous female athlete in the world right now. 

He tried to steal a car from one of the inventors of _Exy_.

He was fucked.

Kayleigh cackled at him. She unbuckled her seatbelt so she could double over in her seat with laughter as David sputtered. 

“God, your fucking _face_ !” Kayleigh screeched. “You looked so stupid! The expression and the blood and the broken nose, holy _shit!”_

David frowned. “I didn’t even know you were in the states. People don’t really play Exy here.”

“Yet.” Kayleigh winked at him. It made David’s heart beat weirdly. He ignored it. “That's where you come in.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll get to that,” Kayleigh waved her hand at him. “Lets go get your nose fixed first.”

Kayleigh got out of the car and led David up the long walk to the front door of the house. She went in without using a key and shouted into the foyer, “Tetsuji! I’m home and I brought a guest!”

A head popped out from one of the rooms off to the side of the main entrance hall. It was a tall asian man that David recognized as Tetsuji Moriyama, the other creator of Exy. It made sense that he was there. It was rare for the two of them to be apart, if the tabloids were anything to go by. Just about every sports mag in the world had written something about how the two were probably boning. It didn't make a difference to David if they were or weren't but it didn't sound nice to have all of your details aired out to the world. 

“ケイリー、これは誰ですか？” Tetsuji said, looking David up and down.

“彼は取締役会の問題に対する答えです” Kayleigh responded. She waved at David. “David, this is my best friend Tetsuji. Tetsuji, this is David and he could use some medical attention.”

“And you couldn’t have taken him to urgent care?” Tetsuji said. His voice was lilting and soft and very pretty. That was the hardest part of being bisexual--David was pretty sure that both Tetsuji and Kayleigh would be the end of him, even if Tetsuji seemed cold to him. 

“Nah, I wanted him to come meet you, Tetsuji!” Kayleigh said. “C’mon, we can reset his nose at the kitchen table and talk over some stuff. It will be fun!”

“I'm pretty sure we have different definitions of fun, Kayleigh.” Tetsuji said but he led the way into the kitchen.

Kayleigh pushed David into a chair as Tetsuji pulled a first aid kit out from under the kitchen sink. She settled herself down across from him at the table and watched almost gleefully as Tetsuji reset David’s nose with a sharp jerk back to center.

David could immediately breathe easier, though his entire face was throbbing. He hadn’t looked in a mirror, but he imagined that he had some impressive black eyes to match his bruised nose. The way that Kayleigh was looking at him only confirmed that fact.

“So, here's our deal.” Kayleigh clasped her hands in front of her and gave a wicked grin. “I don’t report you to the cops and in return, you work for us.”

There was the record scratch noise in David’s brain again. “Wait, what?”

“You work for us!” Kayleigh repeated. “I teach you Exy and show you off to the international sports committee to prove that Exy is teachable to American citizens. We record you playing and in the meantime, you live here with me and Tetsuji. We’ll even feed you. Easy peasy.”

“Wait what?”

“I’m going to teach you Exy.” Kayleigh repeated slower. “Are you in?”

“I-” David shook his head to clear it. “Of course I’m in, are you kidding? Who would be stupid enough to not accept getting the chance to learn from the founders of the sport?”

“Founder, singular.” Tetusji cut in. “I won’t be teaching you. This was Kayleigh’s idea, and she can deal with the consequences on her own.”

Kayleigh rolled her eyes. “Yes, Tetusji, you've made your point.”

“What point?” David asked.

“That if we wanted to we can just use the money his family gives him to get our way.” Kayliegh glared at Tetsuji. “But if we want this to go anywhere, we need to be able to do it on our own. So it looks like I’ll be teaching you alone until Tetsuji stops being a stubborn fucker.”

Tetusji rolled his eyes from where he stood behind Kayleigh. It made David snicker, which made Kayleigh scowl. She stood up and reached out a hand. “Do we have a deal?”

David took her hand and gave it a firm shake. “Deal.”

Kayleigh gave David a grin that reminded him of a fox. In that instance, David knew that he was truly and deeply fucked. 

*

“David?” Kayleigh was knocking on the doorframe of his new room. It was a big room, frankly too spacious for the likes of David but he was happy with it. The bed already had sheets on it, and there were all the toiletries he would ever need in the bathroom. It was nice, like a hotel.

David looked up from where he was examining the empty dressers at the sound of Kayleigh’s voice. She snickered at him. “We can either go get your old clothes or get you some new ones tonight if you want.”

David did a mental calculation of the clothes he had crammed in his drawers at home. Not a lot. Enough to fill a small duffle up but nothing else. He shrugged. “Can we do both?”

Kayleigh laughed like the sound of church bells, big, bright and brassy. “Yeah we can! Sounds like a good compromise to me. We just have to go to dinner afterwards.”

“That's good with me.” David laughed back. 

“Nice.” Kayleigh tossed a pair of keys at him. He caught them on instinct. “You drive.”

David fumbled with the keys. “Th-the Camaro?”

“What else?”

“I-I,” He looked down at the keys in his hand. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I'm sure.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I know you love that thing and will treat it well. Otherwise you wouldn’t have tried to steal it, right?”

David ignored the blush rising to his cheeks. “Right.”

“Then let's go.”

Kayleigh directed him through the town with the ease of someone who had lived there their whole life, not someone who had only been there for a few months. The competency Kayleigh showed in everything was startling and wild and made David horny in the weirdest way. 

They stopped by David’s apartment and Kayleigh frowned at it. 

“This place is…really shitty.”

David shrugged. “It’s what I could afford.”

She frowned deeper. “I’m really glad you are living with us then. Hey also, if you want, you can quit whatever low paying job you have right now. And get rid of this shit apartment. Me and Tetsuji will cover what you need while you’re working with us.”

“Okay...” David trailed off. “But what about after? I’ll still need this job and this apartment after I’m done with you two.”

“Didn’t I just say I’ll cover you?” Kayleigh raised her eyebrows at him. “That's all included in the Kayleigh Day Professional Exy package. I promise you.”

Again, David’s brain was warring with himself. The part of him that had spent his entire life fighting for himself said to leave this, leave her because someone this good could never be trusted, but again, he felt himself trusting Kayleigh more than made sense.

In the end, he just shrugged. “Okay, fair enough. This day can’t get any weirder than it already is.”

Kayleigh laughed and shoved David. “Wymack, I think we are gonna be a good team.”

He found himself smiling. “Me too.”

*

“C’mon, Wymack!” Kayleigh hit her racquet against the ground. “Pick up the pace, ya slow fuck! Your second graders could do better than you are right now! Go! God!”

David whimpered. His legs felt like lead as he ran suicides across the court, but he knew that if he stopped, Kayleigh would just make it even harder on him, so he pushed forward. He let himself slip into the monotony of _step step step step step step step turn step step step step step step step turn step step step step step step step turn step step step step step step step turn,_ until his mind turned blissfully blank.

It felt like centuries had passed before Kayleigh shouted at him again. “Alright, you’re good, David. Sit down.”

With a relieved groan, David slumped onto the floor. Kayleigh laughed and squirted him with her water bottle, but David couldn’t bring himself to care. Kayleigh took a seat next to him on the ground and reached out to ruffle his sweaty hair. “Told you it would be hard.”

“You didn’t say it would be an hour long round of suicides though.” David groaned again and rolled over. “I feel like I just ran a marathon.”

“Marathons aren't that bad, ya big baby.” Kayleigh nudged him. “You just hate running and also don't listen to details when I tell them to you. I told you this would be really hard. I’m essentially trying to build you up to an Olympic athlete in roughly three months. “

“Can you explain why you’re doing that again?”

“To prove it’s possible.” Kayleigh stood up and held a hand out to help him up. He took it gladly. “One of the big things that is stopping me from getting approved by the committee to make Exy a professional sport here is that a lot of people think that it's too hard to learn.”

“And teaching me will prove that it's easy to learn?” David frowned. “That’s kinda rude.”

“No, not like that! Well, kind of like that. You’re like...a test in a way. Proof that people of all ages and all different walks of life can learn how to play.” Kayleigh said. “They said in the meeting that I could only make it professional if ‘I literally picked some rando off the street and made him play’ and then…you were trying to steal my car. It was like fate.”

David stopped in his tracks. “So it was just because I was the first dude you saw, huh?”

“What?” Kayleigh turned back to look at him. ”David, no, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It sure sounds like you did.” Warm anger burned in David’s chest. He knew that he was overreacting, but the idea of Kayleigh only seeing him as an investment, as an _experiment,_ hurt more than he wanted it to. It burned, lighting him up from the inside out. “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think it was because you actually saw something in me that you liked.”

“David, you’re being an idiot.” Kayleigh snapped. “You’ve been here for one fucking week and I already spend more time with you than I do Tetsuji and hes my _best friend_ . I picked you _because_ I saw something in you, you fucking blockhead! God, I can’t believe I have a crush on such a fucking idiot!”

There was a record scratch sound in David's brain, and all of the anger flowed out of him in a burst. “Wait, what?”

Kayleigh’s face was bright red. She looked startled by her own words but her expression steeled. “I said what I said.”

“Y-you?” David stuttered, something he hadn’t done in years. His voice was higher than he remembered it being. “You’re in love with me?”

“Nope, not what I said.” Kayleigh crossed her arms. “I have a crush on you and your stupid hot body, but I’m not in love with you. I’m not in a place where I want a relationship. I have too many plans, ideas, and people I'm interested in to be in a real relationship.”

David looked at Kayleigh carefully before shrugging. “Okay. I'm in.”

This time it was Kayleigh’s turn. “Wait, what?”

“Kay,” David stepped forward, so only inches separated them. “I’m happy to be with you in any capacity. You are legitimately one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. I’ll be honest, I was kind of hoping for a mutual relationship but this is okay too.”

Kayleigh squinted at him. “You are okay with being non-monogamous? Really?”

“If it's what you want, then yeah.” David shrugged again. “Like I said, I'm happy to be with you in any capacity, whether that's dating, friends with benefits, or just friends in general. I’m okay with it.”

Kayleigh looked at him carefully for a moment before reaching up and pulling him down into a kiss.

David had kissed people before. There was a few of his highschool sweethearts, people of all genders who had made his heart thump in ways that felt indescribable at the time, but the way Kayleigh kissed compared to those was like trying to compare a candle to a bonfire. They were the same thing but only on a technicality. Those first kisses were like a small light shining on his face, but kissing Kayleigh was like going outside and instantly getting sunburnt. It was dangerous, indescribable and beautiful.

David would die right there if it meant he got to kiss Kayleigh for the rest of his life. 

“Am I interrupting something?” Tetsuji’s voice said suddenly from behind them. 

David and Kayleigh leapt apart. A dark blush burned across David’s face as Kayleigh laughed and clapped Tetsuji on the shoulder. 

“A little bit there, bud.” She grinned. “Sorry about that.”

Tetsuji gave a fond sigh. “I’ve contented myself to the fact that we have the same type in men but must you really rub it in my face like this?”

“Yup!” She laughed again. “Again, sorry. I’ll find you a nice, cute bear one of these days, alright? That’s a promise.”

Tetsuji gave a small smile. “Whatever you say, Kayleigh. Whatever you say.”

“Love you, Tetty.” She said and then grabbed David’s hand. “We are gonna uh…go over game theory, alright? Catch you later!”

“Bye Tetsuji.” David said lamely as Kayleigh pulled him away.

Tetsuji just shook his head fondly at them. 

*

_David’s heart was pounding in his chest, loud enough that he was sure that his father could hear it over the sounds of his mother’s screams. There was no way he couldn’t. David was sure of it as he scrambled backwards. His back hit the wall with a thump._

_That noise was the one that got his father's attention._

_His father wheeled around and he had a strange maniacal grin on his face and the bloody corkscrew in his hand, and David’s breathing was getting faster and faster but the breath wasn’t sticking in his chest long enough for him to scream._

_“Davey, you’re next you little fucking asshole!”_

_David knew how this next part went. He knew that in some other reality, he stood up and punched his father and then kicked him and kicked him and kicked him until he was gone, but David’s legs stayed stubbornly locked and the corkscrew got closer with every passing second until it was in front of his left eye and his father had his face in his hands and was bringing the corkscrew down and-_

“David!”

David woke with a start, nearly pushing Kayleigh completely off the bed. His head was pounding and it felt like he had somehow forgotten how to breathe in the moments between dreaming and waking. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t breathe and his head just kept pounding and pounding and pounding and-

“David, baby, take a breath.” Kayleigh’s calm voice washed over him and she gently laid her hands on his shoulders. The touch grounded him, just a bit, but he still felt lightheaded. “There you go. Just keep on breathing. It was just a dream. You’re here with me in your room in Tetsuji and me’s place. You’re safe.”

David wasn’t sure how much time he and Kayleigh spent just sitting there together, him trying to remember to breathe and her just running her hands across his shoulders. It could have been minutes or hours or years until David’s mind finally unfogged for long enough for him to choke out his thanks to Kayleigh.

She snorted. “I’d be a pretty shitty lover and shittier friend if I didn’t help you out when you had a nightmare, David, c’mon. Do you wanna talk about it at all?”

David looked away from her. “You...wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh cut the whole angsty teenage boy thing, Wymack.” Kayleigh bit out. “You don't have a monopoly on shitty memories or a shitty life. I used to have nightmares all the time and now look at me! I sleep like a baby most of the time. At least when I’m not being woken up by the dude I just had sex with trying to kick me off the bed that is.” She winked at him and nudged his shoulder. “I’m no therapist but I’ve been to quite a few of them, so lay it on me. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” 

David looked at Kayleigh. She had that glint in her eye that he knew meant business. She had it when she was playing Exy, she had it when she offered him the deal, she had it when she told him to get into the Camaro. There was no way he was getting out of this, so he didn’t even try. 

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. There wasn’t a way to tell this story delicately, so he didn’t. “My dad took my mom's eyes out with a corkscrew. I beat him to shit and got him out of the house but I think a lot about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t. He probably would’ve killed me.”

“Shit.” Kayleigh said. She let out another string of curses in Gaeilge to match. “That’s horrible David, I’m so sorry. Did he get arrested?”

“Yeah. He died in jail a year later.”

“Did your mom survive?”

“Yeah, but I don’t talk to her.” He shrugged. “She told me that I would never amount to anything so I left her too. If she wasn’t going to give a shit about me then I sure wasn’t going to give a shit about her.”

Kayleigh was looking at him with an unreadable expression. It wasn’t disdain or pity though, so David was content. 

Eventually Kayleigh just laid back down and pulled him down with her. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, until his head was pillowed on her chest and she could card her hand through his hair. He could hear her heartbeat, as steady as a speeding train within her chest. 

“When I was a little girl, one of the older boys on my street assaulted me. Repeatedly.” She said quietly. She didn’t stop moving her hand through his hair as she spoke. “It took a while, but when my mum found out, she was livid and got the boy thrown in jail, but the damage was done. She was smart, my mum. She got me into therapy and got me the help I needed but even so, I would dream about it a lot. Whenever it woke me up, she would sing this one song to me to help me go back to sleep. It’s a depressing song if I’m being honest but it’s one of my favorites.” 

“Can...you sing it for me?” David didn't like asking for things, not like this, but every interaction he had ever had with Kayleigh proved that she would never judge him for it.

Kayleigh didn’t respond, she just began singing, first in Gaeilge, and then in English. She was right, it was a depressing song but as David fell asleep, he couldn’t help but think that despite it's sadness, it was one of the prettiest things he had ever heard.

_“No better no better, I never shall be if I can't have Barbara Allen…."_

__

  
  


*

**“** Okay, David, today is the day!” Kayleigh jostled his shoulder as he was eating his breakfast. She stole half of his bagel from his plate. “I show the recordings of you off to the committee and if we get approved then we are off to the big leagues!”

David swallowed his bite of eggs and grinned. “It’s gonna go great.”

“Here’s hoping!”

Tetsuji walked into the kitchen and stole the other half of David’s bagel. He nodded at Kayleigh. “The car is here. Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” She grinned and waved the tape in her hand. “Got the recordings and everything.”

“Then let us go.” Tetsuji nodded at David.

Kayleigh kissed his cheek as she left. “We’ll be back in a few hours, baby. Wish us luck.”

“You don't need it.” David said. She winked at him and left him to wait for their return. 

He didn’t have to wait long.

Kayleigh came running back into the house only two hours after she left. David was in the gym, just mindlessly throwing balls into the goal when Kayleigh leapt onto his back.

“We did it!” she screamed in his ear. “Exy is going offical in the USA!” 

“Yes!” He whooped. She jumped off of his back and David pulled her around and into a tight embrace. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks but if you don’t let me go, I’m going to literally explode.” She said, practically vibrating with excitement in his arms. He let her go and she jumped in place. “I’m so keyed up that I can’t tell if I wanna fuck or play Exy!”

“I mean, we can do both, just not at the same time.”

“Exy first!”

David grinned and shook his head. “I honestly wished that answer surprised me.”

“Ya know,” Kayleigh said a while later as she lobbed the ball towards the net. It landed and the goal lit up red but she didn't acknowledge it. “You could be the first pro Exy player.”

David paused himself mid swing. “Are you...asking me to do that?”

“Sure am.” Kayleigh grinned and clutched his shoulder. “David, you are one of the most talented athletes I've ever seen. You are one of my best friends. It would be an honor to officially pick you as the first professional Exy player when that time comes around. You could go to any city you want to! Wanna go live in fuckin, Oregon? Go do it! Make Portland Exy Town USA! Fuck soccer!”

There was a pit in David’s stomach the size of an Exy ball. This wasn't part of the deal. The deal was that he would help out just to prove that Exy was a sport that is easily taught and that anyone, even just a random dude Kayleigh picked up off the street could learn it. He wasn’t supposed to be good at it, certainly not enough to go pro. Besides, he didn't want that level of scrutiny. His past was too checkered for him to be comfortable with anyone looking at it. But most importantly, his gut told him that there was something better out there for him than becoming one of the USA’s first professional Exy players.

“Kayleigh, I don't think that’s something I want.”

“What?” She turned to look at him and tossed a ball his way. David caught it on instinct. “Why wouldn’t you want to play Exy for the rest of your life?”

“I just…” David threw the ball back as he tried to put his thoughts into words. “I don’t want to be in the spotlight. Being the first professional Exy player for the United States is the definition of being in the spotlight. I’ve always liked being more behind the scenes. Besides, I have a college degree in psychology I would love to use one day. I just don't think it's for me.”

“David, do you listen to yourself talk at all?” Kayleigh caught the ball and threw it back at him, harder than she probably should have. “This is big! World changing, big! Aren’t you even going to consider it?”

David caught the ball again but let his racquet hang limp in his hand as he shook his head at Kayleigh. “No, not really. I know that it isn't right for me. I can just tell. It's not for me.”

“David,” Kayleigh stomped towards him. “You are making a bad decision.”

David shrugged. “Then it's my decision to make.” 

“God, I hate it when you’re like this!” Kayleigh shouted. “This, this - holier than thou attitude you get sometimes! It's shitty and stupid and I hate it! I’m giving you an amazing chance and you’re just turning it down without even thinking about it? What's wrong with you?”

“Nothing is wrong with me, Kayleigh!” David shouted back. “I’m just not doing what you want me to do and it's pissing you off! That's not my goddamn fault!”

“Yes it is!” Kayleigh threw her racquet to the side. “Don’t you care? Don’t you want to stay and train and play Exy with me?”

“No, Kayleigh, I don’t.” David said his words before truly processing them but the damage was done.

“Is something the matter?” Tetsuji was there suddenly. David hadn’t noticed his approach with the way that he and Kayleigh were fighting.

“Everything is fine.” Kayleigh said. She picked her racquet back up and stalked towards the showers. The only thing David could do was watch her go.

*

David didn’t see Kayleigh for the rest of that day or the entirety of the next one. He was mostly left alone, except when he and Tetsuji shared an awkward dinner in the too big dining room. 

He spent all of his time trying either practicing or trying to figure out a way to make things better between him and Kayleigh. By the end of the second day, he hadn’t come any closer to figuring out how to make things better, but Kayleigh beat him to the punch anyways.

She knocked on his door, just like how she had months previously, on his first night in the house. This time she wasn’t full of the bright energy that she had, just grim determination. A dimly lit part of David’s brain knew that the first night had only been six months before but it felt like a lifetime had passed. So much had changed. Everything had changed.

While David stood by what he said, a life completely without Exy, without Kayleigh, was unfathomable.

He wanted to put that into words. “Kayleigh-”

“Wait.” She held up a hand, the expression on her face an unfamiliar one. It was hesitance. It didn’t suit her. “Just...let me talk first, okay?”

“Okay.”

Kayleigh took a deep breath and that steel reappeared in her eyes. “David, I’m not going to make you do something you don't want to do, even if I think I know what's best for you. That's not fair and I know that. I'm sorry.”

“Kayleigh, it’s-”

“David, let me finish.”

David nodded. 

“Okay. I’m sorry about that, really. To make it up for you, I have one more deal, okay? I’m fulfilling a promise I made months ago anyways.” She held out a sheet of paper. “It isn’t much but I think it's going to be more your speed.”

The paper Kayleigh handed him was a bright white, the black words burning against it as David read the word CONTRACT typed across the top. 

“Kayleigh, I told you-”

“It's not _that_ type of contract, geez, David.” Kayleigh rolled her eyes. “Have faith in me, okay? It's better than that. Keep reading it.”

David’s eyes scanned the words under it. He was able to read them but they weren’t clicking in his mind the right way. He couldn't understand what they meant. “Kay, what, what is this?”

“It's a coaching contract, David.” Kayleigh smiled gently at him .”You told me that first day that you liked coaching so I figured, maybe-”

“Kayleigh.” David interrupted her.

“What?”

“Pen.” His hands were trembling. “Get me a pen.”

Kayleigh scrambled to find one in David’s mess of a room but in seconds there was a cheap ballpoint clenched in his hand. His hands shook as he signed it but that didn't matter. The ink was on the page and he was officially the coach of a girls highschool exy team.

“Kayleigh, I..” He looked up at her. “I can’t say thank you enough.”

“It’s repayment.” Kayleigh said. “You were the reason I got exy approved as an official sport in this country and immediately I was a dick to you. You deserve more than this rink dink job at a highschool.”

“This is perfect, Kay.” David said. “It’s exactly the type of thing I wanted.”

She sat down on the bed next to him and nudged him with her shoulder. “And you never know, maybe you’ll work your way up the ladder. Go from highschool up to college exy. Maybe even professional exy coaching.”

David snorted. “I don’t know about professionals, but college...” He smiled. “That sounds pretty good to me.”

Kayleigh nodded. “I can see that. You shouting at a bunch of shithead college students but actually being a giant sap and loving all of them.”

“Well I don't know about that.” He rolled his eyes. “But yeah. And maybe I could help them. Take the kids like us, the ones that no one wants.”

“That would be nice.” She smiled softly at him. “Give them a place to get better without all the pressure of the world around them. A place where a big strong dude like you could protect them.”

“Yeah. I think that would be really nice.”

David wrapped his arms around Kayleigh and let his happiness overtake him.

*

Hours later, David and Kayleigh were in David’s bed, David’s head resting on Kayleigh’s chest as they held each other. He could hear Kayleigh’s heartbeat under his ear and it made him feel safe.

Kayleigh was running her hands through his hair and he was able to hear it when she took a deep breath. “David.”

He glanced up at her. “Yeah?”

“I bought a new apartment for you too.”

“What?” David sat up. “Why?”

“Because they want us to move to West Virginia. They are going to be building the first Exy stadium there.”

David scowled. “Why?”

“The university there, Edgar Allan, is funding the stadium. They are gonna have a professional team there and an NCAA team for the school. They want me and Tetsuji to oversee the process.”

“So, when do you have to go?” David asked, his voice soft and quiet in his sadness.

“In a few hours.” Kayleigh sighed. She sat up. “Our flight to West Virginia is at midnight, so we have to be at the airport by ten. Because Tetsuji just can’t let us function like normal fucking human beings.”

David snorted. “Well, we knew that.” His expression shifted back to what it was. “You’re moving there. Permanently?”

“I don't know.” Kayleigh climbed out of bed and pulled her discarded shorts back on. “But it's gonna be a long time. Building a stadium takes time and then we of course want to be there for the first season. There’s even talk of letting Tetsuji become coach for the team.”

David was quiet. It all made sense, even if it made his stomach roil. He knew that if he asked Kayleigh to stay, she would only tell him no. He couldn't blame her. This was her dream and he wasn’t going to even think about taking that away from her.

“Stop thinking so loudly, Wymack.” Kayleigh said. She pulled her shirt on and turned back to look at him. “I can feel you getting sad about this. Don’t be. Just because we won’t be living in the same house doesn't mean that we won't be friends anymore.”

“I know.” David sighed. “I’ll just...miss you.” 

Kayleigh walked over to where David had sat up on the bed and stood between his legs. She carded her hands through his hair. “Don’t start missing me before I’m even gone. That's just a waste of time and emotions.”

“I know.” David leaned up slowly and pressed their lips together. Kayleigh kissed him back softly and languidly, and even though David knew that she was right, he still couldn't help but think of it as a goodbye.

Kayleigh pulled away. “C’mon David, lets go get dinner before I have to head out. We can make a goodbye date out of it and I can make Tetsuji pick me up from there. We can go to that good Japanese restaurant if you want.”

David nodded. “Let me go get ready.”

*

They got a table at the restaurant quickly, despite the fact that it was a Friday evening. They were towards the back, where they could just bask in their last night together. They ordered wine and their entrees quickly and were left to talk.

David tried to ignore the fact that this would be the last time they were together for a long time. 

“I think this will be really good for Tetsuji too.” Kayleigh was saying. “If we get the final approval by Edgar Allen then he’s gonna become the Ravens’ coach while I help run the ERC. He’ll finally have something of his own besides what his family tells him to do.”

“I still don’t know what his family does exactly.” David said. “Tetusji hasn't really ever mentioned them to me.”

Kayleigh frowned and swirled her wine. “I'll be honest, even I'm not exactly sure. They are rich and pretty powerful but beyond that,” she shrugged. 

“Weird.” David said. 

Kayleigh shrugged again. “Tetsuji is a private man. He told me enough and I’ll respect that.”

“That’s fair.” David let his eyes wander through the restaurant. There weren't many people in the restaurant but there was another couple a few tables over. The man looked like he was having fun, laughing and running his hands through his auburn hair, but the woman looked like she was ready to crack behind her forced smile. 

“David.” Kayleigh pulled him back, like she always did. She smiled at him. “I don’t think I ever said thank you.”

David pulled his eyebrows together. “For what?”

“For going along with the whole thing.” Kayleigh waved her hand. “It wouldn’t have happened without you.”

David snorted. “You would’ve figured something out. You always do.”

Kayleigh nudged him with her foot. “Yeah...you're right. I'm pretty good.”

“Good? Kayleigh, you’re the best.”

She grinned and shook her head at him. “I thought we were past the point of this much flattery, Wymack.”

“Can’t help it.” He shrugged. “You’re leaving so I have to get it all in now.”

She kicked him lightly under the table. “I’m not leaving forever. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“I wouldn’t even try.”

They were interrupted by their food arriving and they let the conversation lull as they ate. It was a good evening, either way. Just a chance to be in Kayleigh’s presence for a little bit longer.

Tetsuji arrived with the car sooner than they wanted him to. 

“I need to talk to someone quickly,” Tetsuji said. “Then I’ll meet you outside.”

Kayleigh nodded and she and David exited the restaurant together. David dragged Kayleigh’s suitcase behind her towards the car and when they reached it, Kayleigh stopped and turned towards David. She smiled at him.

He sighed. “This is goodbye then, isn’t it?”

“Only for now.” Kayleigh promised, but David knew how this went. They would keep in touch for a while but eventually, they would drift apart. It was a natural thing, but it still made David’s heart ache with a want that he couldn’t quantify.

He pulled her into a tight hug. “I’ll miss you either way.”

“I’ll miss you too.” She murmured into his shoulder.

“Don’t let those Virginian’s wear you down, okay?”

The neon light of the restaurant's sign made her face glow as she laughed. “No one can wear me down. I'm Kayleigh Motherfucking Day.”

David heard the sound of the door opening behind them, heralding Tetsuji’s return. He pulled Kayleigh into one last, deep hug. “You’re goddamn right.”

She pulled out of the hug and kissed his cheek before climbing into the car. Tetsuji nodded at David as he passed before he too got into the car and started the engine.

David stood and stared as the car pulled away. He ignored the way that the light of the street lights made his tears shine.

  
  


*

“Coach, I think your phone is ringing.” Alexis, David’s sophomore striker pointed out. She pointed towards his office, where a noticeable ringing sound was coming from, and popped her gum to prove her point.

David frowned. It was too early in the day for him and Kayleigh’s weekly calls, but he couldn’t think of anyone else who would be calling him. 

A glance at the clock told him it was five till six.Close enough. “Alright ladies, go get changed out. I’ll see you tomorrow for our game, alright? 5:30 sharp or you’re all running laps, ya hear me?”

“Yes Coach.” They chorused before wandering off to go live their non-Exy lives.

David wondered briefly when he had stopped having a non-Exy life. He found that he didn’t really care.

He went into his office and picked up the phone with a gruff, “Kay?”

“Hey David!” Kayleigh’s voice sounded overly forced in a way that made David’s frown deepen even more. 

“You okay?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine.” Kayleigh said. “I just have...news I wanted to share with you before you heard anything from the tabloids.”

David didn’t know he could frown so deeply. “Did something happen?”

“Well, I-” Kayleigh cut herself off and in his mind, David could see her taking a breath and steeling herself. “I’m pregnant, David.”

David stopped breathing. He couldn’t tell if his world was falling apart or smashing itself back together. Everything seemed to be going so fast, and he was suddenly painfully aware of the feeling of his fingers clenched around the phone and the way his shitty polo shirt was rubbing against his skin. Everything was too much and not enough as a single question burned itself in his mind.

“Is it mine?” He choked out.

Kayleigh breathed out on the other end of the line. “No.”

Things balanced out in the same moment that they went off balance. Disappointment and relief burned itself through his chest in equal parts. “Oh.”

“That's why I wanted to tell you first before the tabloids caught on. I didn’t want you to get your hopes up.” Kayleigh’s voice was lilting. “I’m sorry David.”

“No, don’t be.” David said, not thinking about whether or not he should be angry at her. “Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you…going to keep the baby?”

“I think so.” David could hear the soft smile in Kayleigh’s voice. “It might be nice to be a mom, ya know?”

“You’ll be a great mom, Kay.” David whispered. 

“Thank you David.” She said just as softly. “Listen, I gotta go meet with the rest of the ERC but I’ll talk to you later, okay? Love ya bud.”

“Love you too.”

The line clicked dead.

David didn’t move for a long time after that. 

*

“So...what happened next?” 

They were sitting in one of the marginally better sushi places in Palmetto, small plates and lids and dishes of soy sauce scattered between the two of them. David had told the story on the way there and between bites of sushi. Kevin had listened to the whole thing with rapt attention

David shrugged. “The rest is kind of history. I kept working for the highschool until I got offered the position here. I saw you and your mom sometimes, but it was few and far between.We talked on the phone a lot when we could, but it started to taper off after the first year and especially after you were born. For a few years there, we kept up our weekly phone calls but we were both just...busy.” David looked away. “And then she died.”

Kevin stirred the ginger and soy sauce on his dish with his chopstick. “I remember you visiting. You babysat me once I think.”

David nodded. “Yeah, I did. Your mom left you at my place when you were around five while she went and dealt with some rulebook stuff with the pro team in Chicago. I took you to work with me and you tried to correct my defenceman’s grip.”

Kevin snorted. “I remember that. She was holding it incorrectly and would’ve fucked up her wrist.”

“You’re right but that doesn't change the fact that I had to stop a fifteen year old from smashing your poor little baby head in.”

There was silence once their laughter faded. Kevin was looking off into space, and his voice was soft when he finally spoke. “Do you regret not going after her?”

“Yes.” David didn’t want to lie to Kevin. “I do. But can I tell you the truth?”

Kevin looked at him, the queen on his face quivering slightly. In his eyes, David could see echoes of Kayleigh, but in the light of the second worse sushi restaurant in Palmetto, South Carolina, the biggest thing that David could see was Kevin himself. All of his flaws, all of his successes were reflected back at David like a mirror in the sun. He was young and smart and a little bit of an asshole, but he was his son and David wouldn’t ever sacrifice that. “What?”

“The thing I regret most is not getting to watch you grow up.”

Kevin froze. He stared at David with wide eyes. David watched as he swallowed and looked away. He collected himself before looking back at David with the softest of smiles David had ever seen on the boy's face. “You have me now.”

David smiled back at his son. “Yeah. I do.”

David paid the bill and they walked back out to his car. David wrapped an arm around his son's shoulder as they walked and knew that he would never let him go. 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @foxeshaveclaws! TALK TO ME


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